Another phase in the long saga of battle between online gambling legalization supporters and opponents in the US is expected to take place this Friday, April 16th, in the Congressional Internet Gambling Committee.
The committee is scheduled to hold a hearing on two bills, supporting Online Gambling, presented to the Congress by Rep. Barney Frank. Congressman Frank is long known as supporter of the legalization and regulation of online gambling.
Both bills are aimed at battling the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA), passed in 2006. The UIGEA’s full implementation was supposed to take place in Jan 2010, but was delayed due to Barney Frank and the Poker Players Alliance (PPA) efforts.
HR 2266 – The Reasonable Prudence in Regulation Act focuses on further postponing the UIGEA full implementation until December 2010.
HR 2267 – The Internet Gambling Regulation, Consumer Protection and Enforcement Act offers an overall alternative to the UIGEA, by presenting a comprehensive framework for the legalization and regulation of online gambling.
Representatives of the US Treasury and the Federal Reserve are expected to participate in this Friday’s hearing, after the two institutions were rebuked by the Ranking Member of the Financial Services Committee, Rep. Spencer Bachus in the last December 3rd 2009 hearing, where they made no appearance.
The poker community, headed by the Poker Players Alliance (PPA) is anxiously waiting for the outcome of the hearing, as it seems that the two bills are the last hurdle to prevent the outlaw of online gambling in the US.
